CRM...the best kept secret in the world of small business.
Many small business owners start out by storing their customer data in Excel spreadsheets or Outlook. Whilst these tools can fulfill basic needs, most businesses will inevitably struggle to grow without an effective system to manage all their contact information. Holding on to an inefficient system will stagnate your business and over time, erode the customer relationships that you’ve worked so hard to establish. Fortunately, there is a solution available in the marketplace that has been proven to assist businesses with improving customer relationships, productivity, sales and marketing campaigns.
The solution? CRM, otherwise known as Customer Relationship Management. Chances are you’ve heard it but dismissed it as a tool only beneficial for medium to large businesses. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Many successful small businesses have been using CRM for decades.
Here are 3 ways that CRM can help your small business to stay competitive and achieve your goals.
1. Cultivate customer relationships
Many small businesses credit their initial growth and success to word of mouth referrals from happy clients. A CRM helps you to sustain and nurture your existing customer relationships and new contacts as you expand your customer base.
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“Act! allows me to keep on top of my clients’ requirements. It allows me to review previous contact, keep track of my progress with clients and build on client relationships. I can be up to date with any orders that need processing and when the next order will be. It is more than a calendar, it is a relationship programme.” |
2. Record and track sales activities
Documentation can be a sore point for many small business owners who feel that it takes away from time in front of the customer. It’s important to keep in mind that your sales records are important documents that allow you to make informed and strategic decisions to further the growth of your business. A CRM allows you to work more efficiently, while accumulating critical data to make important decisions about your business based on your customers and their product and service preferences.
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“We are gathering more information about our product range and we can see how often we are selling things, which is allowing us to tailor our products better to meet our customers’ needs. Act! brings us closer to our customers through direct mail outs and easier booking capabilities.” |
3. Coordinate marketing efforts
Marketing campaigns are a large undertaking and can often appear overwhelming for small businesses without a Marketing Director to take the lead. A CRM with integrated marketing tools will enable you to efficiently create, implement and manage your own marketing campaigns with ease.
A CRM such as Act! is a perfect choice for small businesses. In addition to providing one centralised view to all of your contact information, it includes powerful, easy-to-use emarketing and SMS tools.
Using your data in Act!, you can create segmented marketing lists in order to send customers and prospects the right message, at the right time, via the best communication method. Then monitor the customer engagement to evaluate the success of your campaigns and plan the next steps. Find out more about Marketing with Act!
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"Ultimately, Act! has allowed us to keep in contact with potential clients and monitor their interest which has lead to a 12% increase in sales specifically through targeting those people generated by our customised hot lists." |
With the many CRM solutions available today, it’s critical that you do your research and select an option that is affordable and flexible to meet your unique needs, now and in the future. In the case of CRM, bigger and more expensive is not always better.
Let us show you how Act! CRM can become your small businesses secret to success. Speak with a Small Business CRM expert today by calling 1300 362 046 or find an expert near you.
